People with No Camel: Based on a True Story

"According to the laws of Sharia in Iran," says Roya Movafegh in this tale of murder and escape to freedom, "if a Muslim man is murdered, his family may be compensated according to the price of one hundred camels. If the same crime is committed against a Muslim woman, her family is entitled to the price of fifty camels. If a Bahá'í is murdered, no camels apply. I am of the People with No Camel." The account of her family's touch-and-go escape from the wholesale murder that took place in the homes and streets of Iran during and after the revolution that toppled the Shah and brought Khomeini and his henchmen to power is eye-opening, profoundly moving, and a testament to the potential of the human spirit to overcome adversities of the most terrifying kind. Through all the massive coverage of that revolution, even the most well-informed Americans never heard a word about the atrocities committed against the Bahá'í. This richly conceived and beautifully executed narrative, part a clear-headed journalistic account, part a poetic reimagining of the experiences the author lived through, is a must read.